Grad students bring wonder to kids at UNC Children’s Hospital

Graduate students April Hamblin and Jeremy Slone recently brought a little nature indoors for a good cause at UNC Children’s Hospital. The duo tag-teamed a pair of hour-long, interactive presentations about bees, pollinators, and other insects, reaching about 20 young patients in total.

This awesome vinegaroon and other live insects participated in the outreach event. It’s a type of whip scorpion that sprays vinegar when disturbed.

The pollinator outreach event was organized through WonderConnection, a program through the North Carolina Botanical Garden that provides hands-on, interactive science programming to pediatric patients. WonderConnection’s natural science presentations focus on native NC plants and animals and aim to inspire joy, creativity, and patient empowerment.

It’s no wonder, then, that Hamblin and Slone were a good fit. They taught about native bees and their importance, bringing along large boxes of pinned specimens to showcase the diversity of native bees that is often overlooked. They also showed off a selection of live insects, had insect-related crafts, played insect-related games, and even sported fun bee costumes (for the younger audience) to engage the students. Interacting with these unique students and seeing their excited reactions definitely made it worth their while! See more about the event on WonderConnection’s Facebook page.